A summary of the newly-announced Steam Deck's technical specifications reveals that it should perform competitively with the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The portable gaming console was recently announced by the Valve Corporation, the developer of software distribution platform Steam. Valve is also the developer of several iconic game series including Half-Life, Portal and Team Fortress.
Today Valve announced the release date and price of the Steam Deck handheld console, a portable gaming platform which can run the extensive library of Steam games. The Steam Deck is being referred to as Switch-like, with the console's portable nature being similar to Nintendo's hybrid machine. The fully-functional portable PC utilizes traditional controller buttons, a pair of trackpads, a touchscreen, and four back buttons, to allow gamers to play PC games with even the most complex controls. Like its counterpart the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck can also be docked and connected to a television, although the Steam Deck's dock is sold separately. Valve's portable PC will ship in December 2021, and it will sell for $399. Steam Deck pre-orders begin on July 16, and gamers who are interested in the device are recommended to place their reservations as early as possible.
Twitter user Iashman has shared an extensive comparison of the Steam Deck's specifications to rival consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The summary comes from Peter "Durante" Thoman, a popular developer and model, who posted the breakdown on Steam. Durante reveals that the Steam Deck's graphics processing unit is as fast as a PlayStation 4, but the newer architecture and smaller screen give it the same raw GPU performance as an Xbox Series X. The central processing unit is half that of an Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5, but the console's 16 gigabytes of random access memory is equal to that of a PS5 and four times that of the Nintendo Switch.
While the Steam Deck is a new and exciting venture for Valve, it is not the company's first attempt at a console. In 2015 Valve released Steam Machines, a line of prebuilt gaming PCs with home console features such as customized Steam Controllers. The aim of the innovative consoles was to allow gamers to choose between different variations of the same basic hardware, but by 2018 Valve had removed Steam Machines from the storefront. The failure of the Steam Machines experiment may have been a setback for Valve, or it may have encouraged the company to continue developing the idea until the team created the Steam Deck.
Valve's Steam Deck is an exciting announcement from a video game juggernaut that remained dormant for many years. The portable console will give gamers unlimited access to the entire Steam library right at their fingertips, with innovative controls to match any title. With performance power to match rival consoles, the Steam Deck may be Valve's next big success.
Valve's Steam Deck will release in December 2021.
Source: Iashman/Twitter, Peter "Durante" Thoman